Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Big Momma's Boy
Things couldn't be much better. Currently I'm in a hotel in Melbourne with my mom. It's the first day since August 28th that I'm with someone who knows me, and someonewho speaks my language.
Work this weekend was a pleasure. On Friday we did a lot of preparing for a function on Saturday. I did manage to do a big no-no though. I drove a forklift down to the big marquee set up for the event (that was also used for Wednesday's or Thursday's function) and got it stuck in the pathway I helped make on my first working day the 1st of October. I got through it with weight on the machine but I couldn't make it out back over it. I hoped that we'd get it out with Richard before Helmut would see it but the other forklift didn't have enough horses in it's engine to get it out. Helmut wasn't pleased but he didn't scold us too badly. He used the tractor to get us out and after I repaired the damage I'd done to the pathway everything was alright. It was just a waste of time, nothing else. We did work pretty late and on the way home with Richard we wondered how people got anything like this done -- you know, getting forklifts stuck and all that useful stuff that we do -- before we showed up at Rochford...
Saturday started rainy and we did some more preparing for the noon function. When the guests started pouring in the rained stopped (pouring). I worked the bar with Graham, who wasn't very smart about it. I didn't have to do too much busy or unpleasant stuff. Before the function David almost killed me though. Not literally. We hurried all the plates down from the restaurant carrying too much weight in a impractical container and in a painful manner. My left hand was still a little numb going to sleep last night.
The function went great and nobody drank too much alcohol or soft drinks. I haven't taken a Responsible Serving of Soft Drinks course but dumb Graham kept pouring full 33 cl cups of drinks to kids of all ages, while I kept it at under 15 cl for anyone with facepaint and around 25 cl for other underage people. All of them seemed satisfied with what they got and the smallest ones were the most polite customers I've had. The kids were seriously cute and my favorite one was a three year-old girl who asked if she "could please have a wemonade?" After the function our staff diminished so David and finally myself and Darcy hauled the rest of the stuff away. It started raining but I just felt too good to care. It was fun. How did we get rid of the fryer that had made me get the forklift stuck? We started to carry it with Darcy but need a break pretty soon. I ran back and grabbed a trolley (nokkakärry in Finnish) and hauled it back with that. Easily -- Helmut had told me to use a ute the day before and David told me to use a pellet and a pellet jack. I really should do more things the way I feel is the smartest. My experience with Muuttopalvelu Niemi in 2001-2 seriously paid off. Should have put it to use 24 hours earlier though.
Boaz gave me a lift home and we decided to go to the cinema to see Skyline. We stopped at our place so I could change and then we watched some TV at Boaz before leaving. David also joined us. We all agreed that it was a stupid movie. Personally I wouldn't recommend it to anyone even though it had some cool moments. Mediocre but not positive.
At home I bagged my bags for my days off. One bag for the stuff I need for my getaway and my 40 l backpack with stuff I'd want to send home. We -- me and my mom -- are getting me a bigger one on Tuesday!
Today I worked the bar with David but I did get a trolley assignment. Or I made it one. I don't know if you remember the tables or trestles that me and Richard painted gray, but I had to get six of those from the marquee near the concert stage and get them up to the marquee next to the café. By myself. (Sascha told me to take my time, BTW I already like him more now!) The first trip I brought up one, with the legs facing forwards (I really should've taken some pictures of this) and carried it in from the door of the marquee. The second trip I brought in two tables and maneuvered them in the marquee with the trolley and on the last trip I brought in three (which was a bit too heavy to do pleasantly). By the time Graham came to assist me, there was nothing to do.
Me and David held fort in the bar and I even served some food and cleared the same plates later. AND I made two lattes while David was smoking with Sascha and brought them to the table myself -- no complaints. After the busiest part I started looking at the time to see when my mom would arrive. She said she'd come around three o'clock. I was afraid I'd start to cry. A little after three she sauntered in like nothing and it felt like running into someone your jot really surprised to see because it's natural and probable. Like seeing someone from SYK on Aleksanterinkatu or Wanha-Kettu or someone from TOKL in Klubi, Börssi or Dynamo. I was still busy polishing glasses but I got my mom a cappuccino for free. After that she looked around and took some pictures of the area.
David agreed that we had a good day and told me to go home so we left. I changed into more comfortable clothes and grabbed my stuff. I haven't talked as much as I did on the one hour drive in ages. Then again I hadn't had a conversation in Finnish in over a month. When we got to the hotel here in St. Kilda we just left our bags in the room and I got some presents from Finland, a book from my aunt (thanks!) and a Donald Duck pocketbook from my grandma (shoutout!). Then we headed out to eat in the city.
We took a tram, went through the CBD and found the exact same Italian restaurant on Lygon Street we had been to five years ago after seeing the Lion King musical. We still talked a lot and had a good time. I ate garlic bread, seafood pasta and chocolate ice cream. Then we headed to the river to find a bar and had one more drink at the local PJ O'Brien's before retreating to our hotel. I looked at some pictures that my mom had on a cd before I opened the TV, put on my peejays and started writing this.
We're going to the Great Ocean Road tomorrow and wake up's in six hours. I'm sorry for the lack of pictures in this post, but I've been too busy living the moments to recapture them. My mom did get some good pictures though!
I'll hit you back with another post soon, most definitely with pictures.
Holla at your playa!
Ps. Fun blogfact number 1: My last post (What becomes of the brokenhearted) is already the fourth most loaded post in this blogs history trailing the first official post, my first post from Hong Kong and my first post from Rochford. Thanks for reading, whoever you are! It's easier to write when I know people are still interested.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?
There has been fun and there's been some heartache. Monday and Tuesday were a little boring and I felt bad mentally and physically and I'm not sure which one caused the other. Going to work at 7 am on Wednesday I felt worse than I had felt in a long time. But once the day got going I realized that working outside is a million times more enjoyable than working at the bar. Thanks to a badly slept night I was a little tired at the end of today's work but I felt better once I got off work.
Highlights: I got to drive the ute to Lilydale on Wednesday morning. Later John taught me to drive and use the forklift. AWESOME! Today, Sascha asked me to do inventory on his locked storage room. I liked that because I got to actually use my brain to organize something and to do it properly. Tuesday night I watched some television. Going head-to-head were the Miami Heat vs. Utah Jazz overtime game and the premiere of Conan, Conan O'Brien's new late night show. I saw the best parts of both ie. Utah's comeback with a flurry of threes and the opening monologue of Conan. Today's lunch was awesome too.. It was a Parma, which in my estimation is a chicken schnitzel type of thing but with extra tomato under the crust on the file. Yum-may! Rounding out things the funniest thing in a long time was that picture of a license plate I took (it's okay if you don't get the joke).
Okay stuff: Richard came over yesterday and we sat outside talking. Had he not come I might have gone to the cinema with Boaz to see Paranormal Activity 2. On Monday I watched Insomnia. I'd totally forgot about the movie. I was most pleasantly surprised by Robin Williams performance and the simple but unorthodox plot. Oh, and Chris Nolan interviewing Al Pacino was a great extra. On Monday k finished The Wire's fourth season. I still think season two's the best so far. Also, I saw the biggest ants I've ever seen today.
Lowlights: I hate Sascha. He just annoys the hell out of me. In comparison, I actually like talking to Ana now.
1. He thinks that he knows me and makes snap judgments about my working style.
2. He thinks he's funny, but mostly it's the bad kind of unintentional, pathetic funny, if that. Or it's just plain annoying.
3. He speaks really shitty English, with sentences formed like the German language. He almost ruined Richard's visit by talking too much.
4. It might be because of his shitty English, but he uses a lot of superlatives -- "Australia is the worstest blah, blah" SHUT UP!!! -- and makes a lot of end-of-the-discussion statements. He must have said "that's the problem with Rochford" on at least three different subjects. He should learn to use phrases like "In my opinion", "One of the..." and "It might be that" and so on and so on. But now, he's just an asshole nobody disagrees with because he's the boss.
Or nobody disagrees with him because his opinion doesn't matter and he's a foreigner with horrible English. In my opinion, one of the reasons might be just his holier than thou Republicanlike worldview that makes him talk like that. But what do I know? BTW, he's also rubbed Boaz the wrong way lately. Not that I need support for my opinions but it's nice to know that someone else has noticed the mistreating ways of an asshole.
Oh, and I still have to live with him...
His weekend assessment of me did lead to him giving me an enjoyable assignment today, so it's not all bad and I'm sure my annoyance with him will dissipate in time.
In other news it's three more days and my mom will come to Rochford, from where she'll take me to a hotel in St. Kilda for a couple of days and we're also going on a Great Ocean Road tour on Monday.
I can't wait!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Everlong [Acoustic]
I really don't update my blog when I should. Like last Wednesday. That's when I went shopping and spent more than $300 of my hard earned cash on plane tickets to Sydney and back, Freakonomics, a couple of DVDs, a couple of t-shirts etc. Five days -- or an everlong -- later all that doesn't feel too important. I went to the Eastland mall, shopped and saw The Social Network in the cinema. The movie made me feel a little sick about Facebook kind of like Super Size Me did to McDonald's -- even though it always makes me go Gorsky for Big Macs.
On Thursday I stayed home, watched Gladiator and wrestling on DVD among other things, got my hair cut and, stayed lazy.
Friday I worked by myself in the vineyard trying to get some color on my pale torso (didn't happen) and finished early. I ate pizza for dinner and spent $45 more on DVDs even though I should be saving.
Yesterday was a not-so-busy day in the restaurant but it still was busy in the bar, as it always is. I felt tired all day but I took really good care of the bar before going home so that today would be easier.
It wasn't. It was a shitty day and Sascha really got on my nerves. The crux of the problem is that we don't have enough staff so us full-timers have to work twice as hard and also keep the others busy. Well, I'm full-time two days a week and I've got less than ten days experience working in a bar in my whole life while the others have been doing their jobs for a year or a lot more. So I suck at my job, I know. But that's a big problem for Sascha too.
But I'm not going to care too much. I'll try to survive the next two weekends before my vacation to Sydney and if he keeps treating me like shit in December I'll gladly change scenery and get a job somewhere else. It's not my preference but being called a slow girl is not something I want from my roommate either.
After a walk to "Maccas" and a Mega Mac meal later I don't feel like crying my frustration away. Numb, maybe?
Now I have two days off and I plan to use my hard earned $$$ for food only. Maybe, just maybe, I'll go to the movies, but I'd rather stay home, chill out, sit outside reading and watch DVDs on the couch. On Tuesday I might get to watch some NBA too. The next days off I'm spending with my mother and after that I'm in Sydney so the next time I can just relax in or around Lilydale will be after the Blondie concert in December.
Seven more days of Everlong and I meet the person in whom I spent almost as much time growing as I will have spent abroad on this trip. I doubt I'll gain 3,960 kgs during these months though.
Stay fat friends,
Sakari out
PS. One day, don't remember which, I was reading a bunch of stuff I've written on the Internet during the years. The best stuff was amusing and I don't feel like I have written anything funny in ages. This blog seems more like a dull diary than an entertaining read. I don't know if it's the language, the subject matter or what, but that's what I feel. I'll try to liven up my writing in future posts. I'm aiming for more clever and funny stuff. I should only write after doing or something funny...
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Save It for a Rainy Day
Hi World,
Just as I feared, I haven't had a day off since I last graced your lives with my blog writing presence. Nothing really special has happened so let's get right to the interesting part.
My mom is coming to Melbourne in less than two weeks! She'll grab from work on Sunday next week and I'll spend my two days off with her. That's four off-days and eight working days away still. Oh, and a week later I'm going to Sydney with the scary Brotherman, 2Pay, himself.
But that's in the future. Currently I'm tired and I'll go back to the past to illustrate why.
Friday was nothing special. Sunny day, worked on Helmut's vineyard all day. Saturday was boring at first but then I was a bartender at a 21st birthday function held outside in a marquee (a tent). It rained buy it wasn't cold until late. I mainly worked with Krystal who can be a bit of a bitch, but I respect her and Eva the new German girl. We had fun working together. More about her later. We didn't work too late and got to eat some delicious left overs before knocking off. The Car Show was cancelled because of the rain, which had already caused flooding in parts of the Yarra Valley and elsewhere.
David gave me a lift home and we picked Ana up after buying beer from a drive-in liquor store. Literally. A drive-in liquor store that's open all night. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if we had those in Finland. David brought a six pack ad shared it with Ana who invited David over. David talked about his family, mainly his troublesome brother and we had a good time. Sascha joined us too and we we just sat in the living room chatting until 11 PM.
Sunday was a quite busy bar day even without the cars and I worked with David. It was a busy day and went quickly but I felt very stressed. Fortunately David caught on and told me to cheer up and said that we are a good team. That made me feel better but it was short-lived.
Sascha called me and Eva to talk with him and he had a "suggestion". He thought that me and her should switch apartments. She's staying with Alex and Elizabeth and works in the restaurant everyday and not just two days a week like me. And I wouldn't have to wait for a lift after work if I lived close by. It felt like he was throwing me out for a German bias.
I took some cardboard out and took my aggressions out on the cardboards before putting them in the machine. I don't want to move, I thought. It's my home and if I lived on the farm I'd be a slave to Helmut just like Alex. If you know me, you would've seen that I was angry and tired when I came back in. Sascha said that it was my decision and I told him that honestly I don't want to move. And that was it.
Now, I was still angry because Sascha had thought this idea was so great that he'd suggested in front of Eva. There was no reason to have her know of the possibility if it's my decision and afterwards I just wished she didn't think I'm a total a-hole for not moving out. I actually like her and would like to spend some time with her but I'd have to be in love to sacrifice myself like that. I've since talked to a couple of people about it and they agreed that Sascha shouldn't have involved Eva and that I have no reason to get out if I want to stay. We even talked about our arrangements with Sascha yesterday and it's all water under the bridge. Now if they would just watch movies that without German audio -- seriously, watching The Dark Knight with German dialogue. Retarded and just stupid, am I right? -- we might actually start having some fun together.
Monday I went back to work thanks to a lift from Boaz and even though it was a busy day in the restaurant I grabbed my jeans with me as "Helmut insurance". Smart move, since I worked outside all day with Richard, who gave me a lift home and his two cents on the apartment/Eva situation. Sascha was already home and we talked before they watched 8Mile in half English, half German and I watched some Wire and 48 hrs., a violent action film starring Nick Nolte and a pre-Beverly Hills serious (and seriously good) Eddie Murphy -- The bad guy was Dexter's dad, James Remar!
It was Melbourne Cup today but Helmut requested me to work outside with Richard which was fine. I was too tired to deal with customers anyway. Another rainy day I remembered to bring my own rain coat today. I worked really slow today but I did see the biggest spider I've ever seen and a real live echidna digging for ants beneath the bushes. I took a picture and video which I'll try to upload a to YouTube and embed on the site later. He was pretty scared of noise but showed his pointy face when I was silently filming him.
Mercifully the day ended, I have two days off now and in 30 minutes I'm going to the cinema with Boaz, Bree, Louise and Natalie from Cellar Door to see Red, starring Bruce Willis and older actors. Tomorrow I'll do my part of cleaning around the house and then I'm going shopping ready to spend $200 or more for some pretty important stuff like un-ripped jeans and plane tickets to Sydney and back.
Have a good one, laters!
Ps. You can read this post on a sunny day too, but it's been raining quite a lot so saving it would get you in the right mood.
Pps. Thanks to the holidays, there were a lot of families with kids at Rochford. Makes me miss my niece and nephew and also makes me wish I'll get to be a father some day. Hopefully not before at least nine months after I've returned to Finland but, You know, eventually.
UPDATE: Just came back from the cinema. Go see Red, it's good, fun, over the top action.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Heartbreak Kid
Now, what follows may shock some readers but the shock will pass before my arse is back in Finland so I don't care. I've been honest so far and there's no reason to stop now.
On our way home, Louise called me from Rochford and asked me what I was doing. My alarms didn't go off immediately since I was surprised to be getting a call from someone not named Sascha, Ana or Helmut (or Boaz). Then she asked me if we could hang out later and I said "sure, I'll call you back". The truth was I'd rather do something fun with Boaz or nothing at all. But we decided that some dinner and a movie at Boaz' house would be good. So we headed there and texted Lou to come there too.
I was exhausted when we got to Boaz' place at around 4:30. When Lou came she practically sat on me to get close to me. I was starting to get scared. Then we watched the movie (National Treasure 2!) and that's when things started to get ugly. She kept playfully poking me and if my hand was anywhere near hers she tried to grab it. I had to place my left hand in places she couldn't reach not to be annoyed by her advances.
If it was me I'd try to find out if the other person is attracted to me before making a physical move like that. I dunno if she's madly in love with me or just really, really bad at reading other people's emotions, probably the latter and I felt harassed by her.
After the movie I had to get a lift home from her. When we arrived at Summit Road she told me that she liked me and I... said nothing. I didn't want to say "I like you too, but"... The fact that I goof around at work and she laughs at my jokes doesn't make her attractive. Nice and likable maybe. But throwing herself at me without any interest in my intentions? Desperate and pathetic.
I got out of the car and went inside feeling tired and, honestly, angry. I felt I had one friend less while I had done nothing wrong. Is it a surprise that I'm not attracted to her? The only mistake I did was say yes when she asked if we'd like to hang out later. But I didn't realize how she felt until after the phone call. And it was too late after that.
I have to add that Ana told me a rumor about Louise and her past as a man-eater, but I don't think it really factored here. I don't believe she likes me "that way" and I actually hope that she doesn't because that would mean I didn't break her heart. Although I would be offended that she thought I'd be that easy. The other option -- that she really likes me -- is just filled with awkwardness, but she might not be working at Rochford that much anyway.
Today at work was nothing spectacular. The whole ordeal had actually made me feel a little homesick overnight and I thought about a lot of people and days back home while doing the wires on Helmut's rows of vines. It was a sunny day and I turned my thoughts from home to planning/daydreaming about my future travels in Australis. Once I got home from work I took my daydreaming to the computer to calculate gas expenses and check rental car, flight and hotel expenses. Here are some of my plans:
1. My mom might come for a one night visit to Melbourne the third weekend from now.
2. This morning (last night for him) my brotherman let me know that he'd made hotel reservations for us in Sydney. I'll be down there from the 22nd until the 30th of November.
3. I'll stay at Rochford through the concert season and might be leaving a week after the the last one (INXS on Feb 6th) on the 15th of February. The rest of February and March would be spent in Tasmania and Sydney. I'd like to go to TAS by sea, drive around and fly to SYD from Hobart. I might work in a bar in Sydney to inflate my budget and maybe even stay with my mom if she comes to work there. *fingers crossed* Plus, I'd have to see Canberra too.
4. April (maybe late March too) would be dedicated to road tripping, Into The Wild style. I'm thinking of getting a Jucy campervan and driving it around the continent to Adelaide, Perth, Broome, possibly Uluru, Darwin and eventually Cairns.
5. In New Zealand I'd rent another Jucy (it's even cheaper there) and drive around the north island. Tonga and Samoa are yet to be planned, but if I run out of Australian money, I'll gladly get by with my Finnish Visa if it comes to that.
...Now, I just have to take it day by day. Tomorrow I work outside. Saturday will be a function. Next Tuesday is Melbourne Cup day -- Melbourne Cup is some kind of horserace -- so I don't know which days I will have off. I have to secure plain tickets for my trip to Sydney and be patient about that. Meanwhile I'll keep on working, watching DVDs, reading and making new friends.
Now go listen to Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker or "George Steinbrenner's" version from the last seasons of Seinfeld.
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